Behind the Mask
by iska-omori
Summary: Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets "JD", James . How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more? M for later Chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

* * *

It all began with an invitation to Logan's Halloween Masquerade Bash. Kendall was unenthused at first. Parties weren't really his cup of tea. But it was Logan's party, and it would be rude of him not to at least show up for a few minutes to say hello. Also, he wouldn't have to do extensive costume shopping since the Masquerade theme really only required you be well dressed and have a mask. For close to a month Kendall was on the fence about attending the party, until Carlos called him up the day before the event to ask him what he was wearing.

"Uh," Kendall stalled. He couldn't say 'I'm not going' because that would be rude, but he also couldn't say he didn't have his clothes picked out because that would make it seem like he wasn't prepared at all. "Slacks and a black button up," he said hoping his black button up still fit.

"What color slacks?" Carlos asked.

"Black." Kendall knew he had black slacks to wear, but was still not sure on the shirt situation. He got up from his couch and went to his room to check for it.

"Awesome. I'm wearing a blue shirt and Logan said he's probably going classic white. We won't accidentally match."

"God forbid if we did," Kendall muttered, pushing aside clothes on the floor of his closet. The rack broke weeks ago and the clothes all fell to the floor in one massive heap. He hadn't been bothered to cleaning it up yet.

"Are you looking through your clothes?" Carlos asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.

Kendall bit his lip and pulled his black button up from the mess of clothes. "Nope, just doing laundry," he lied rolling his eyes.

"Sure. See you tomorrow night, well, if you recognize me."

"What?"

Carlos laughed exuberantly, "Did you read the invite? It's a Masquerade party, so you have to wear a mask. The entire time."

Kendall groaned, he'd definitely missed that part of the invite, "Great."

"See you tomorrow," with that Carlos hung up and Kendall tossed his phone onto his bed.

* * *

The party was in full swing by the time Kendall arrived. Luckily his shirt still fit fine, although it was a bit tighter across the chest than he last remembered. He had picked up a mask at a craft store, it too was black, like the rest of his ensemble. He wasn't going for the whole mystery man or Zorro look, black just looked good on him. And the craft store had two options of masks, pink or black. So of course he chose black.

Music blared from the speakers in the main room of Logan's house and there were people everywhere, at least 50 or more that Kendall could see, and everyone had on a mask. Kendall didn't recognize anybody at all. Although that might have been the point.

Logan crossed the main room turned dance floor, to meet Kendall by the door. His mask was pushed up into his hair. "Hey, glad you could make it! Carlos is already here, his mask is dark blue with feathers on the top if you want to find him."

"I'll keep that in mind. Aren't you supposed to be wearing your mask?" Kendall laughed touching the thin black plastic propped up on Logan's forehead.

"I'm the host, have to greet people and let them know which one I am."

"Of course. Who's all here?"

Logan shrugged an looked around, "I invited close to a hundred people and I've greeted so many I can't remember who's who anymore. I know Kelly is here somewhere and Katie arrived a few minutes ago."

"Katie's here? My little sister?" Kendall asked glancing around at the masked party goers.

"Dude, she's 21, she'll be fine, she's my friend too remember?"

Kendal gave Logan a playful shove, "Yeah, I keep forgetting she's not a kid anymore."

"Go have fun, I've got people to greet, see you around," Logan said as he began to move behind Kendall to greet a girl in a green cocktail dress as she entered the front door.

Kendall got a beer from the kitchen and settled himself down on a free stool near the breakfast bar. Not too many people were lingering in the kitchen, mostly just those who wanted a drink or needed a break from dancing but didn't want to go out to the pool. Kendall surveyed the people who came in and out of the kitchen with very little luck identifying any of them. At one point he thought he might have seen Katie, but the girl's hair was far too long and a shade too dark. Although it could have been Katie, Kendall hadn't seen her in over 4 months since he now lived in LA and she lived in Bakersfield.

"Are you gonna sit in here all night?" a voice asked close to his right ear. He hadn't noticed anyone come in.

Kendall turned his head with a polite smile and said, "I might."

"You shouldn't. It's fun out there, you can act like a totally different person and nobody would know who you are."

"I'm sure."

The strange man laid a hand on Kendall's shoulder, "Dance with me."

Kendall laughed, "I don't dance. Not my forte."

"I'll teach you," the stranger said grabbing Kendall's hands and pulling him from the stool. Kendall went willingly with the stranger, thinking all the while that he'd definitely had too many beers if he was letting this guy lead him out on to the dance floor to embarrass himself.

The guy was taller than him, but only slightly. He wore a short sleeve black v-neck tee with black slacks, no belt. As far as 'dress nice' went, this was probably 'casual formal' and stressing on casual. He looked great though. His arms were tan and so was his collar and face. Kendall had a hard time deciding if the man was tanned or if this was closer to his natural skin tone. It looked natural either way. The stranger had dark brown hair that was swept back from his face and pushed haphazardly up on his head, as if it were styled at first but he had run his hand through it at some point.

"I'm-" Kendall began but the stranger cut him off with a hand to his mouth.

"No names. Not real names any way."

Kendall smiled beneath the stranger's hand, "Alright. What should I call myself, I don't have a nickname or anything."

The stranger smiled a bright white, perfect smile and said, "Call me JD. You can be Blonde?"

Kendall shook his head, "No way. Just call me….Capitan."

"Is that a title of yours?" JD asked smirking.

Kendall shrugged, "Sort of."

JD grinned and put his arm around Kendall's neck, "Come on, sway with me, Capitan."

"I thought we were dancing," Kendall mused, falling into rhythm with JD.

"We are. Did want to start you out with a waltz."

"Do you even know how to waltz?"

JD moved a few steps closer to Kendall, making their situation much more intimate, "I know how to do much more than waltz."

"Are you coming on to me?" Kendall asked.

JD laughed and pulled him over to the stairs away from the rest of the people dancing and mingling on the floor. He moved his hands to Kendall's waist and leaned his forehead against Kendall's. "Is this okay? You don't seem to be resisting."

"No, it's fine," Kendall paused to look at JD's mouth and lick his own lip subconsciously, "It's not what I usually do, but I'm not going to be myself tonight, like you said."

"I like that," JD muttered pushing his mouth forward a bit to brush against Kendall's. He pulled back just enough so he could see Kendall's reaction.

Kendall was smiling and looking up to see JD's reaction, he noticed the eyes beneath the mask were the prettiest hazel brown he'd seen in a long time. "Again?"

"As you wish, Capitan," JD smirked, pushing his mouth against Kendall's again, this time more pressure. Kendall brought his arms up around JD's neck and deepened the kiss by running his tongue over JD's bottom lip. He tasted like coffee with a bite of alcohol that left a slight bitter taste on his tongue. This was definitely not how Kendall acted at a party, but that didn't matter, because tonight, he wasn't Kendall.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

* * *

JD moved to Kendall's neck and drug his teeth down the tender skin and sucked softly at the pulse point. Kendall tilted his head back to give JD more access and moaned quietly. He moved his hips gently against JD's and moved his hands from his neck down to his waist. They rock against each other and Kendall lets out another moan, "James."

JD freezes and his body goes ridged. He removes his mouth from Kendall's neck and steps back a bit, holding Kendall at arms length by his waist. "What did you just say?"

Kendall shook his head and brought a hand up to his hair. There goes everything. "I-I said James, he's a friend of mine. Well, I think of him as more than a friend, but he'd never think of me like that. Just, I'm so sorry, JD just sounded like James in my mind and yeah, I got all mixed up. Sorry. You can just leave me here, it's fine, I made this really awkward."

JD's mouth was a tight line and what was visible of his face betrayed no emotions. "Is your friend James here?"

"No, no," Kendall scrubbed a hand over his hair once more, it was a nervous habit, "no, he went to Minnesota to visit his mom a few days ago. No, Logan would have told me if he was coming."

JD smiled wickedly, "Good, thought I might have some competition."

Kendall laughed weakly, "No, you wouldn't. James isn't into me like that."

JD closed the gap between them once more and placed a soft kiss on his lips, "You don't know that for sure. He could be here right now, watching, and you'd never know."

"When hell freezes over."

"Want to go somewhere more private?"

Kendall nodded and JD pulled away grabbing his hand to lead him past the stairs. They climbed the stairs and passed several other couples on their way up. On girl was teetering dangerously on the banister while her masked companion nipped at her neck. Kendall so badly wanted to tell them to be careful, but he didn't.

They maneuvered past several drunk party goers and JD steered Kendall into an empty room and closed the door behind them. It didn't occur to Kendall how it might have been weird that JD knew his way around the house so well. JD pulled a bottle out from behind his back and licked his lips, "Wanna do body shots?"

"Where did you get that?" Kendall asked amazed at the bottle that seemingly magically appeared.

"Took it off one of those guys in the hall. Are you in?"

"Yeah."

JD pulled his shirt over his head and flopped back on the large bed. He held the bottle up and shook it slightly. "I think there's enough here for us to each take a few turns. I'm first." JD uncapped the bottle and looked at the contents. It was a blue liquor that said Hypnotic on the bottle and it had about a fourth of it left in the frosted glass bottle.

Kendall bit his lip and crossed the room with a deep breath. He'd never done body shots before, but he knew what they were. JD spread his legs and Kendall knelt between them and looked up JD's body. It was as tan as his arms and ripped as fuck. Kendall thought he might just be satisfied licking JD's stomach with out the liquor involved.

JD poured a little of the liquor at the start of his abs and it flooded down along the ridge of his stomach muscles and pooling at his navel. Kendall looked up at JD through his dark mask and delved his tongue into his navel and scooped the blue liquid up then continued to lick up to his collar bone until he was clean of the liquor. JD grinned devilishly and poured more. Kendall chased that dose up as well. On the third time Kendall moved over to JD's right nipple and raked his teeth over it with a smile.

"Fuck," JD choked tilting his head back, mouth open.

"My turn," Kendall whispered, already undoing the buttons on his shirt. JD dropped the bottle on the bed and moved his hands over Kendall's chest. He balled the shirt in his fists and tugged, buttons went flying. Kendall's eyes widened as JD surged upward and captured his mouth in a rough kiss. He shoved the fabric back from Kendall's shoulders and Kendall's tossed the shirt to the side.

JD flipped them over and straddled Kendall's hips with his legs. He rolled his hips down against Kendall's and threw his head back in a moan. Kendall could feel himself becoming harder than he ever thought possible. JD bent down for another kiss, hips still rolling and Kendall brought his hands to the brown hair. It was soft and moved easily though his fingers as he pulled trying to gain control of the kiss.

Just like that Kendall felt the snap of the elastic band beneath his fingers. JD's mask had broken, but judging by the kiss he'd hadn't realized yet. Kendall shouldn't have done what he did next. He placed his hands on JD's chest and pushed slightly, causing JD to pull away from his mouth and his mask to slip off and on to Kendall's chin.

"James?" Kendall whispered.

James's eyes went wide with the realization that his mask was no longer fastened to his head. He looked down at his friend with wide eyes and a deep red blush stained his cheeks down to his collar bone. "Shit."


	3. Chapter 3

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I looke forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

* * *

"J-James?" Kendall stuttered, utterly perplexed that this was his FRIEND on top of him. The friend he had been crushing on since their senior year of high school. His friend who was a talented singer and model. His James, the same James that he grew up with, who he met in 3rd grade by standing up for him in the sandbox. James was on top of him.

"Shit, shit, shit," James slid off Kendall's hips and started to pace the floor in front of the bed. His lower lip caught between his teeth and his hands rubbing methodically against his jeans. He was sweating bullets, chancing a glance at Kendall every few paces. His words were caught in his throat. There was no logical way to explain why this had happened.

Kendall stared up at the ceiling beyond the four spiraled wooden posts of the bed. His mind was a haze and he tried relentlessly to convince himself this was a dream and not in fact happening. This whole situation was like one of his wildest wet dreams. It was too bizarre to be actually happening. Kendall clenched his eyes shut and counted back from twenty. Upon reaching twenty he opened his eyes. Sure enough, the bed posts and the ceiling were still there.

James moved swiftly to the bathroom door to the right of bed. The water ran cold as ice in the sink when he turned it on. He splashed his face once, twice, three times before reaching for a towel on the tank of the toilet. He left the water running and stared down into the sink, watching the water attempt to pool up in the smooth white ceramic, but instead getting swept down the drain.

He began to think, 'Why is this any different? Why am I freaking out? I knew it was Kendall all along and I still wanted to do this. He didn't know it was me, but that was okay, he never had to know. But the fucking mask, the mask! Why, why did I do this? I could have just ruined out friendship.'

Kendall's eyes stayed trained on the dark wood door to the bathroom. He could hear the water running and James moving around, probably pacing again. He watched the line of a shadow pass under the door and back again. Over and over. Why was this so bad? Why were they freaking out? Kendall knew that he wanted James, hell, it was almost better that it was James and not some random stranger. Kendall liked James, loved James, but there he was, lying on Logan's guest bed, making James think he was freaking out.

'The way he said "shit", like he knew it was me," Kendall thought, replaying the short lived conversation over and over again in his head. Shit, shit, shit. He knew. James had to have known it was Kendall all along for him to react that way.

"Kendall," James said, voice raspy and cracking when he spoke, "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

James's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, "All," he gestured wildly with his arm, "THIS."

Kendall smirked and pushed his mask up to the top of his head, "I'm not."

"I knew it was you all along and I should have said something earlier, much earlier actual-What did you say?"

"I said, I'm not sorry THIS happened."

James leaned into the doorframe of the bathroom and took a moment to look between the floor, Kendall and the ceiling and then back to Kendall. Because, did his ears deceive him? Did Kendall just imply that this was okay? That he like it?

"James," Kendall threw and arm under his head as a rest and spoke to the ceiling, "I've liked you for a long time, dude."

"What? Why didn't you say something?"

"First off, you only ever dated women and never seemed to look at men. Second, how would you suppose I went about that awkward confession. Should I have just sat you down one day and said, "Hey, James, so I'm bi and I'm totally into you." because that would definitely not have ruined out entire friendship."

James moved away from the door and toward the bed, he had to see Kendall's face as he spoke, to know if it was the truth. If this was really happening and he wasn't still in the bathroom passed out in the tub hallucinating or dreaming this up.

Kendall turned his head away from James as he approached. He wasn't ready to face his friend yet, it was easier to just talk to the nothingness. He fixed his gaze on a blue and white China vase placed on a dresser nearby, wondering for a split second when Logan had begun to bother with things like decorating.

"Look at me," James whispered, now at the side of the bed, one leg up on it dipping the mattress in.

"I can't," Kendall confessed, body rolling a bit from the unevenness of the bed now that James was up on it on his knees, kneeling beside him.

"Kendall."

"James, I can't. I don't want to see your face. I don't want to know that this is over, they we're over as friends. I'd rather just leave."

James grabbed Kendall's chin and turned his head too look at him, "Do I look like I want you to leave?"

Kendall stared into James's eyes, searing for some sort of regret. Something to tell him that this was wrong, or that this was a dream. Anything to make this not reality. "No," he muttered.

"I knew it was you when I saw you walk in the front door. Truth be told, I wasn't supposed to be here, I was supposed to still be visiting my mother. But I came home early because she had a flight to Miami to catch. Katie called me and asked if I was going to the party and of course I was confused, but she told me more details and I knew I had to come."

"Why did you come?"

"Because I knew you would be here. I drove from the airport straight here, I put on some clothes from my suitcase and stopped by the dollar store for that cheap toy mask."

Kendall propped himself up on his elbows and James straightened up on his knees, towering over Kendall. "Why would you come for me?" Kendall asked, eyes darting to the bathroom.

"Why do you think?"

Kendall scowled.

"Fine, make me say it. I like you, Kendall. I've liked you for a while now and I didn't think you would be into me. We're best friends and I didn't want to make things awkward."

"It's not awkward. Well, it was at first since I found out I was just about to fuck my friend but I didn't know, but it's okay now. I'm not gonna say no to you."

James felt his cheeks flush a little, "Kendall, please. Let's just, go clam down, yeah? Go party some more and see if it's still 'okay' after we're not still half naked and turned on beyond belief."

Kendall stood up and looked over at his ruined button up, "You trashed my shirt, dude."

"Sorry," James smiled sheepishly, retrieving his own shirt from the beside the bed.

Kendall opened the drawers of the dresser in the room, most of the drawers were empty, but one had a white tee in it and Kendall pulled that on. It fit just a bit snug, like a brand new unwashed shirt. "So I turned you on?" he asked as innocently as possible.

James paused at the door to the hall, "You did body shots off me. Of course I was turned on." With that he left the room, closing the door behind him. Kendall decided to wait a minute or so, so it didn't appear that he had just done something with James.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I looke forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

**Important**** Note:** this story has a potential to go on farther than just the halloween party. I could take this into a story where they develop a relationship. But I need the support of my readers. I need to know that you want this if you do want it. I need to know you'll read it. I don't want my writing to go to waste. So if you seriously want me to continue this and you think it is a good idea, let me know in a review. thank you.

I've been having trouble with ff's captcha image and I cannot garuntee when the next time I update this will be since i may not be able to log in.

* * *

Kendall stood at the top of the stairs, overlooking the party below. There was a significantly smaller amount of people still at the party. He spotted James almost instantaneously. He was by the doors to the kitchen talking to a petite girl in a pink and yellow dress. It wasn't flirty, just talking. The girl removed her mask and handed it to James with a brilliant smile. The son of a bitch had charmed the mask off the poor girl. Kendall shook his head with a smile on his face.

The girl walked away from James, hand raised in a wave, still smiling. He was smiling too and waving as he pulled the yellow mask over his eyes. The girl was headed for the front door, leaving most likely. She didn't need the mask anymore anyway if she had been getting ready to go. James must have seen her grab her purse or something and laid charmed his way into getting her mask.

Kendall pulled his mask down from his hair. James looked up just before Kendall started to descend the stairs and they looked at each other for a few seconds. James broke eye contact and slipped into the kitchen. Kendall knew this was an invitation to join him.

Once in the kitchen Kendall found James had already gone. There was a beer on the counter, not yet opened, still very cold, as if it were just taken from the fridge and placed there, maybe forgotten, maybe left. Kendall grabbed it and twisted the top off. Mid drink he caught sight of James out on the patio by the pool. Shirt off, pants half way down, he looked up as soon as he saw Kendall watching, and grinned.

Cat calls and cheers came from outside as James tossed his pants over on a wicker chair to remain dry. He pointed at Kendall through the small crowd of people and crooked his finger, inviting him into the pool with him.

Kendall spit his beer halfway across the kitchen, set the bottle down before dropping it and looked around him. The kitchen was empty save for a couple making out in the doorway to the living room. The people outside moved away from the doors to the patio and looked in to the kitchen where James was pointing. Kendall could feel his cheeks heating up with everyone's attention turned to him. What happened to "Let's just, go clam down and party some more and see if it's still 'okay' after we're not still half naked and turned on beyond belief?" Kendall thought as he leaned against the counter. He knew if he went outside and got in the pool with James, things could spiral out of control faster than a speeding bullet.

James placed his hands on his hips and watched for Kendall's reaction. When he didn't move from his place at the kitchen counter, James decided he would just have to go in. James crossed the patio and through the open doors, straight up to Kendall and said, "Join me? Didn't you get my invitation?"

"James, there's people out there," Kendall whispered.

James shrugged, tossing a glance over his shoulder at the few party goers on the patio, "We're just gonna swim. They won't bite."

Kendall scowled, "What if it turns into more than swimming?"

"So what?" James smirked, grabbing Kendall's hips and brining them together.

Kendall shuttered at the contact, "You said you wanted to calm down and think this through."

James leaned in and brushed his mouth against Kendall's jaw. Kendall could feel it as he smiled against his skin and whispered, "I lied." He grabbed Kendall's hands and pulled away, leading him outside.

"Aren't you worried people will recognize you?" Kendall asked quietly as he unbuttoned his pants.

"I've got the mask on, it's fine. Parties like this are perfect, I don't have to worry about people recognizing me."

"I know, but does the pubic know you're bi?"

"They will if you keep talking."

Kendall kicked his pants a aside and glared at James.

"You didn't know I was bi, you think my fans knew?"

"I don't know."

James grabbed Kendall's arm and pulled him into the pool with a splash. He broke the surface laughing when Kendall punched him in the chest under the water. Kendall spit a mouthful of water at James and he ducked under water to avoid the spray. "You're a brat," James called from across the pool, he'd swum away from Kendall after he'd gone under.

"I'm a brat? What about you? Lying to me already," Kendall laughed. He pushed off the wall and glided through the water to James.

"Already? Are you implying we're in a relationship?"

Kendall reached James but James swam away grinning. Kendall glanced at the few people on the patio to see if they were listening to them. They were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice the two of them in the pool. "I dunno, are we dating?" he asked pushing hard on the wall with his feet and reaching James before he could avoid him again.

"Do you want to date me?"

"What do you think?"

James pushed Kendall's head under water and floated away.

"Not going to answer me?" Kendall asked when he surfaced. He shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his face. The water was incredibly warm, almost like bath water. He laid back and floated toward James. He entangled his feet with James's and they floated together.

"I don't know," James answered after a few minutes of floating.

"About dating?"

"Yeah.

The patio was cleared by this time. They could talk freely without worry of anyone over hearing them, not that anyone would actually care. "You're worried about if it goes wrong, aren't you?"

James pulled his feet from Kendall's and treaded water, "How'd you know?"

Kendall sighed, "Because that's what I'm worried about."

"What about the press? Aren't you worried about that?"

Kendall stopped floating and looked at James who, even with the mask on, looked upset. "I didn't think about that."

"I'm surprised, you always thought things through more than the rest of us. I don't want you to get harassed all the time if we're together. I know I'm not like superstar famous, but I have an album and I model and I have a lot of fans. I get noticed at least once everywhere I go."

"It's kind of hard to forget your face," Kendall smiled.

"I'm serious, Kendall. I don't want you to be stressed out."

"Hey, when have you known me to get stressed? I'm probably the calmest person you know. We don't have to tell anyone we're dating. We'll be 'just friends' hanging out."

James sighed and looked at the house behind Kendall, "How would we tell our friends?"

"We don't."

"Fine. One date," James agreed smiling sheepishly.

Kendall nodded and leaned closer, mouth almost touching James's, and he hesitated there, not sure if it was okay to do this.

"Do it," James whispered looking at green eyes behind the black mask.

And Kendall did.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I looke forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

_**Important**_**_ Note:_ **I am making this into a full fledged story if you couldn't tell by now. Thank you so much to all my readers, it means a lot to me that you like this story. I hope to keep you intrested. Keep reviewing it means the world to me. Thank you.

* * *

Kendall looked up from the cold ice as his ring tone blared across the empty skating rink from his duffle by the gate to the ice. He skated over and dug his phone out just before it went to voicemail. "Hello?" he asked, not having looked at the caller ID.

"Hey, it's James."

"Oh, hey, what's up?" Kendall tried to keep his voice calm, but he was failing. He knew he shouldn't be acting like a 13 year old girl talking to her crush. He was a grown man for Christ sake.

James paused on the other end of the line, "Well, about our date."

"Having second thoughts?" Kendall asked, a lump in his throat. He had expected this, worried over it all the night before, kept himself up until 2am thinking about it. Now it was happening, James was canceling on him because it was too weird.

"No, no, Kendall, it's not that, I still want to go."

"But you can't?"

"I can, it's just, someone found out."

"What?" Kendall asked, tone sharp. He looked out over the ice and into the seats above as if the person who found out was up there, watching him. That was absolutely ridiculous though. Nobody was in the building but him.

James sighed heavily, "At the party, I had my mask off for a minute or two, remember? After our, event, in the guest room?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Someone recognized me right away and snapped some pictures."

Kendall scrubbed a hand over his face and leaned against the guard wall, "So what, someone has a picture of you at the party, big whoop."

"That's not it. That same person followed me the rest of the night and got pictures of us together in the kitchen but not in the pool, thank god. My publicist says they're grainy and look like they're from a cell phone, I lied and told her you were a girl."

"She believed you that I was a girl?" Kendall snorted.

"They were grainy and as far as she knows I'm into girls only. It will work out."

Kendall frowned slightly and said, "Does this mean I have to dress as a girl when we go out?"

James started to laugh, "No, oh my god, no," he paused to let out another burst of laughter, "I was just calling to tell you we have to be careful."

"As far as anyone knows we're just friends, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, but no holding hands, or kissing in public, don't even hug me."

Kendall rolled his eyes, "Really?"

"Yes, really. Don't roll your eyes at me."

"How'd you know I rolled my eyes?" Kendall asked slightly shocked.

"Because you used an 'eye roll' tone of voice when you said 'really'. Don't try to fool me Kendall, I have known you for most of my life."

"Oh, twelve years," Kendall mocked.

"I said most of my life. Emphasis on most. What are you doing right now?"

Kendall looked around the cold arena and sighed, "Waiting until two o'clock when my group of hockey players come in for practice."

"Big kids or little kids?"

"Little kids, you should see them, it's almost funny."

James chuckled, "Almost? Come on, you know you have to try your best not to laugh at those little kids skittering around on the ice, falling down and crashing into the wall every ten seconds."

"Shut up, I have to be an adult," Kendall laughed, imagining a few of the kids from the other day that had run into the wall and fallen back on their asses.

"About time."

"Fuck you, James."

"You want to."

"Not the time for teasing, it's almost time for my group to start arriving, I'll see you tonight."

"Bye," James made kissy noises over the phone and hung up with a laugh.

Kendall threw his phone into his duffle just as his first student entered the seating area.

* * *

"James, we just passed the theater, where are we going?" Kendall asked worriedly, looking back behind the car as the bright lights of the theater flashed into the distance. The plan was to go to a movie, James paid for tickets and Kendall paid for popcorn and drinks.

"I planned something more fun," James smirked as the car glided to the right and off the boulevard. James made several sharp turns and they were suddenly parallel to the beach on a road.

"The beach?" Kendall asked skeptically. The whole point of the theater was that it would be dark and secluded and there would be a very slim chance of anyone recognizing James. The beach however was public, crowded until late evening and very open. A place just begging to be recognized and photographed.

James didn't answer Kendall, he just kept a driving, a smile plaster on his features. This was thrilling to him, something he'd never done before, but always wanted to do. Soon the beach was almost out of sight and thick trees passed until they completely obstructed the beach from view of the road. There wasn't any other cars on the road and Kendall took note of this pretty quickly as the sun was going down and the only head lights on the dusky lit road were theirs.

"James, you aren't going to like, murder me out in the trees are you? Leave me for dead? Pretend we never kissed and never admitted our attraction to each other?"

"Damn, you got it all right. I've got the axe in the back and everything. I was gonna play with you first and then chase you into the trees. I'd hunt you down and chop you up into tiny piece for the animals to eat and bury and let decay."

Kendall punched James's arm, "You're sick, dude."

"I'm not gonna kill you," James said turning the car off the road and down onto a stretch of sand and dirt.

Kendall worried about James's car and whether or not it was built for off road driving like this. Trees zipped by and began to thin. They disappeared all together in the blink of an eye and a beach opened up before them. It was completely empty and there was a battered old pier jutting out into the water. "You took me to a private beach?" Kendall asked as James killed the engine.

"It's not private, just not used anymore."

"How do you know that?"

"A hurricane a few years ago hit this beach and tore it to shreds., so people stopped coming to it and the trees grew over the main entry road. It's still attached to beach we saw back on the main road, but the forest surrounding it is covered with debris and too dangerous to trek through."

"How did you find it?"

"I used to surf here until the hurricane. Decided to find my way through the trees one day and the place is still in good condition, just forgotten."

"So what are we doing here?"

James looked at Kendall with a completely lost expression, "It's beach date, come on, you've never wanted to go on a beach date?"

"No?"

James huffed exasperatedly and got out of the car. He popped the trunk open and dug around inside. Kendall go out of the car and met him at the back. In the trunk there was a bag of takeout boxes, two chairs and a case of beer. James handed the beer and food to Kendall and took a chair under each arm.

Once set up at the edge of the water where James insisted they sit, Kendall opened the take out box and looked over at James with a questioning look. "What is this?" he asked.

James leaned over and took the box from Kendall, "That's my dinner, yours is the other one."

"Okay," he pulled the other box from the bag and opened it to find a burger, fries and a small lidded container of coleslaw. This he could eat, what James had, looked disgusting. "What are you eating?" he asked as James shoveled a bit into his mouth with the fork Kendall passed him.

"It's seafood salad and crab cakes," James said through a mouth full of mush.

Kendall could not help but laugh, "You bring me to the beach for a date, you bring food and you're eating seafood, at the beach. You are some kind of twisted."

"How long have you known me?" James smiled.

Kendall sighed shaking his head and took a bite of his burger.

* * *

After dinner they sat in their chairs watching the last bit of the sun fall beyond the ocean. The temperature dropped rapidly once the sun was gone and night took over. It was nice and the air was cool and a light wind blew across the beach. As much as Kendall had been looking forward to seeing their movie, this was better. There weren't any people around and the only sounds were that of the ocean and some birds in the trees behind them.

"Wanna get in the water?" James asked from his reclining position on his foldable chair.

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes."

"There's sharks in there at night, and jelly fish."

"Not if we stay in the shallow end," James nodded toward the water lapping at the edge of the sand. "Come on."

"I don't have anything else to change into. I don't want to get my clothes soaked."

"Big baby," James muttered. He stood up and pulled his tee over his head. Discarding the tee he pulled his jeans down over his hips and kicked them under his chair. He looped his thumbs into the waistband of his boxer shorts and Kendall's eyes went wide. "Get in the water with me, or I'll go in alone, naked."

"James!"

"I'll do it, Kendall."

"What if someone sees you?"

James cocked and eyebrow, "Do you really think someone is magically going to show up the moment I take off my boxers? Also if you haven't noticed, it's dark out here."

Kendall rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Not the point."

James grabbed Kendall's arm and pulled him from his seat, "Please?"

"Fine," Kendall succumbed to James's pleading looks and removed his clothes as quick as possible.

The water was warm and the sand gave way beneath Kendall's feet so quickly he had to keep moving around or else he would sink in. He hadn't been to the beach in almost a year, there wasn't time. He ran the skating rink full time and taught hockey classes three out of five days a week. Owning the rink had been a dream come true, but taking care of it was a pain in the ass. Kendall only had weekends free and they were spent sleeping the day away or scheduling events at the rink. Going to the beach was nowhere near the top of Kendall's to do lists.

"I'm really enjoying this date," James said running his hands over the water at his waist. They didn't dare go farther out than waist deep.

"It's fun, very relaxing."

"I hoped it would be, I know you're busy all the time."

Kendall waved his hand dismissing James.

James waded closer to Kendall and sighed, "I know you're always busy, don't try to play like you aren't. You never answer calls anymore and you haven't see Katie in forever. When was the last time you saw your mom?"

"I dunno, I guess it has been a while."

"You love your work, I know, but don't let it consume you, Kendall," James took Kendall's hands and held them under the water with his. "There's people who care about you. Don't work yourself to death."

Kendall offered up a small smile, "Not everyone can be model and singer living the good life."

"You say it like I'm super famous," James chuckled.

"Not yet you aren't, but you will be. Wait and see, you'll be the best."

"You really think that?"

Kendall took his hands from James's and placed them on his shoulders, "If I said it, I meant it."

"You were always the best friend I could ask for."

"Hey, don't forget about Carlos and Logan. We're your oldest friends."

James pulled Kendall into a hug and rested his head on his shoulder, "You're my only friends. I can't trust anyone else, no one I work with, no one I date, everyone ends up crossing me. Accept you guys."

"I know," Kendall muttered retuning the hug, "we'll always be there for you. I'll always be there for you."


	6. Chapter 6

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I looke forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

* * *

"Let's get wasted," James said passing Kendall his third beer of the night.

Kendall looked down at the beer in his hand and back up to James, "Dude, beer isn't going to get me wasted that easily," he looked down to the case sitting between the two chairs, "well, maybe we have enough for me to get a little stumble-ly, but not 'wasted'."

"I have a bottle of Jack in the back of the car, a bottle of Coke too."

Kendall's jaw went a bit slack, "Do you just keep those in the car at all times or…"

"Oh yeah, you know how stressful a shoot can be."

"Oh my god, I can't tell if your being sarcastic, please tell me you're being sarcastic."

James swallowing a mouthful of his beer, "Of course I'm being sarcastic. I just bought them this morning for tonight. I have the receipt if you want to see it."

"I believe you, just, try to sound more sarcastic when you say shit like that," Kendall breathed a sigh of relief and stared out at the dark ocean. James abandoned his beer in the sand and went to the car for the Jack and Coke.

* * *

Six plastic cups of Jack and Coke between the two of them and Kendall came to a realization. "Who's going to drive home?" he asked turning only his head to look at James from where was sprawled out on the sand behind his chair.

James looked over from his similar position and smiled slowly, "Shit, didn't think about that."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"We'll have to sleep on the beach."

Kendall stared at the starry sky overhead. The moon was huge and almost full. James's hand moved across the sand and grasped Kendall's in a weak grip. Kendall flicked his eyes down to where they were joined. "What if the water comes up higher? We'll drown," he said to the sky.

"Then we drown together."

"…what?"

"What?"

"You said we'd drown."

"Yeah, but we'll be together. I'd drown with you."

"What if I died and not you?"

James huffed, "Shut up."

"No. What would you do?"

"I said shut up."

Kendall snorted, "I heard that and I said no. Answer the question."

James was silent so long that Kendall started to slip into unconsciousness. James spoke and it startled him awake, "I'd walk into the ocean."

"Huh?"

"If you drowned and I didn't. I'd walk into the ocean…and not walk back out."

Kendall turned on his side with great effort and laid awkwardly on his arm because he was still holding James's hand, "I don't want to drown."

"Neither do I."

"Maybe we should move up closer to the car."

"I'll move when you do," James said.

Kendall pulled his hand away and pushed himself up. He remained in sitting position with one hand on his head the other behind him so hold him up. He groaned loudly, using the chair to pull himself to a standing pose. Walking might be out of the question, key word being 'might'. Kendall couldn't remember the last time he drank anything more than a few beers to feel buzzed or tipsy. "Alright, up, James, we gotta move."

"Drag me," James said looking up with a puppy pout.

"I don't know if I can walk, I can't drag you," Kendall grumbled letting go of the chair and taking a few experimental steps away from James. He could manage going a couple feet up the beach as long as a gust of wind didn't come along, because he was sure that if he fall he'd end up crawling the rest of the way. Which probably would be a better idea than walking anyway.

Kendall made it to the side of the car and swayed where he stood, not quite close enough to the car to grab it for balance. He turned to look at James, but James was running at him. The run was messy, and Kendall was honestly surprised the man could even stand since he had drunk more of the Jack and Coke than he had. James tackled/fell onto Kendall.

"You were gonna leave me down there to drown!" James exclaimed.

"You said you'd move if I moved."

James thought about it for a second, "Oh, right." He threw his arm over Kendall's waist and hooked a leg behind one of Kendall's too. "I'm going to go to sleep or throw up, I'm not sure which."

Kendall held his tongue and said, "Go to sleep."

Fortunately James did not throw up on Kendall, because the angle James's face was pushed into Kendall's hair, there would have been no avoiding the vomit. Kendall wiggled his arm out from under James's chest enough to ensure he would have feeling in it in the morning. With that, he passed out.

* * *

"Drink this," James said handing Kendall a beer as he sat up rubbing his forehead.

He had no idea how long James had been awake, but if his appearance was anything to go by, it couldn't have been long. Sand was still firmly packed against his shoulder and chest. Kendall shifted and he could feel sand in places that sand had no right to be. He popped the cap off the bottle of beer and slugged it down as fast as possible, "Logan teach you that one?"

James smiled, "Yeah, after I got drunk at our graduation party and he had to drag my ass home and baby-sit me."

"I'll never understand why a beer helps cure a hangover, it doesn't seem logical."

"I don't care how it works, just that it does," James ran a hand through is hair and shook sand out, "How much did we drink last night?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, where's the bottles?" Kendall asked looking out to where their chairs sat three inches into the sand and covered with shallow water.

James looked at the chairs too, "Think they got carried out to sea."

"Shit," Kendall mumbled "where'd you get these beers then?"

"Car, a few fell out when I pulled the case from the trunk, remember?"

"Oh right," Kendall nodded looking to the trunk and back to the ocean, "where's our clothes?"

James chuckled and pointed to the water, "Fish have them now, we left them beside the chairs when we got in the water."

"Fucking shit, at least we didn't get naked and fuck. We'd be so screwed."

"Dude, I was not gonna fuck you on the beach. I don't want sand chaffing my dick raw."

Kendall doubled over laughing. He was more concerned about losing their clothes than the act of having sex on the beach. Not for a second did he consider the words he spoke. James could have cared less about driving home naked than have his dick in pain for a few weeks. The thought of it had Kendall laughing harder still.

"Now that I think about it, we probably should have put the chairs up on the pier."

Looking to the old wooden pier Kendall said, "Yeah, we would have fallen through and drowned for sure."

"Did you have fun?" James asked, tone suddenly quiet and reserved.

"Yeah, this is the best date I've ever been on. Was the best date I've ever been on."

"Date isn't over yet, I haven't taken you home."

Kendall grinned, cheeks flushing slightly, "About home, I'm gonna need to stop by your place first."

"Inviting yourself over?" James smirked.

"Shut up, I can't go to my apartment on the top floor of my building in only my underwear."

"Why not?"

"Uh, I have to see my neighbors everyday and some of their kids go to my rink and it'd be a little awkward."

James waved his hand at Kendall, "Yeah, yeah. I dunno about you, but I am starving."

"I could go for some food, I'll get the chairs," Kendall said padding across the warm sand to the chairs. The water submerged his ankles and part of his calves. It was a chore getting the chairs out of the sand, but he managed. He found James in the car, eating some fries from a to-go box. "Where did that come from?"

"It was on the backseat from a day ago or so, forgot to throw it out."

Kendall buckled his seatbelt and gave James a minorly disgusted look, "That's gross."

"I'm hungry, okay," James defended popping two more fries in his mouth before setting the box back on the rear seat. "We can go get real food now."

"Yeah. Also, thanks for this date. It was the best, like I said earlier."

"I know, it was so much better than I ever thought it would be, even though we lost our clothes and sort of littered in the ocean on accident."

Kendall laughed, "That part we'll try to forget." He leaned across the seat and kissed the corner of James's mouth, "I don't even care that much that I lost my clothes."

"Neither do I," James whispered, catching Kendall's jaw as he moved away and dragging him back into for a real kiss.

* * *

Thank you for all your reviews, I would LOVE to see more though. If you read leave a review! It's simply, press that beautiful classy button below and leave a few words of kindness if you liked this. :D

**I look forward to your reviews! Remember, reviews=encouragement! :3**


	7. Chapter 7

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I look forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

**AN2: I**t seemed like a few people didn't like how the first date went. I have addressed this as I planned to. I am aware that it was less 'date-y' and more like hanging out, but I did that for a reason.

* * *

Kendall laid sprawled out on James's black leather couch. "He would have a leather couch," Kendall muttered running his hand over the back. The leather was cold and textured under his fingers. The couch was new, well, newer than the last time Kendall had been to James's house. Which that had been close to a year. Hanging out was something that didn't happen very often with Kendall. His work consumed his time and when he did get to see Carlos, Logan and James it was usually at a bar or sporting event. They talked on the phone, texted and sent each other emails and facebook crap all the time, but face to face time was rare.

"Do you like the couch?" James asked leaving the bathroom beside living room.

"It's expensive," Kendall said with a smile. He didn't believe in spending a lot of money on things that weren't that important. Things like couches. Hell, the guy has had the same car since he was 18 years old, 'it still works and is perfectly fine', he always said.

James flopped down on the other end of the couch with a plate of the Chinese food they had ordered. Kendall had convinced James not to go through a drive through in his underwear and wait until they got home to order food. "The couch was expensive, but I really wanted it. I got a new bed too, larger."

Kendall cocked his eyebrow, "Trying to send me a signal there?"

James shrugged, "Sure. If you want to take it that way."

"Is it raining?" Kendall asked changing the topic and moving to the window. He pulled back the blinds and looked out at the backyard. Sure enough, rain was falling on the large wooden deck and pooling on the table and chairs James kept out there.

"Good thing we left the beach when we did," James said turning his body to look out the window from the couch.

"It's picking up quickly," Kendall commented looking at the pool just beyond the deck. The rain fell hard and fast causing the water in the pool to jump with each rain drop. Thunder rumbled and Kendall let the blinds fall closed. "Thanks for the clothes, I don't think I said so earlier."

James smiled, "They look good on you. You can keep them."

Kendall sat down on the couch shaking his head, "I'll bring them over sometime this week if I get time."

James nodded silently and took another bite of his food. They listened to the rain for a while. It fell loudly on the roof. Thunder shook the house a few time and lightening made slanted lines through the blinds across the wooden living room floor now and again. Kendall ate a small plate of food, but somewhere between the beach and arriving at James's place he had lost his appetite. They didn't turn the TV or the stereo on, they just listened to the rain in silence.

"You can come by anytime y'know, you don't have to call or anything," James said breaking the silence after what had been close to 15 minutes.

"I work all day though."

"Come by after work then. We can watch a movie, eat dinner, do stuff."

Kendall cracked a smile and laughed airily, "Are you trying to ask me out on another date?"

"Yes?"

"Alright, but can we do more than just hang out? There's new restaurant that opened up downtown and I was thinking maybe we could go there."

James grinned, "Sounds good."

The rain started to let up and Kendall sighed, "I should probably get going, I have to work tomorrow and I haven't set up schedules for next week."

"I'll get my keys and take you home."

* * *

"Who's the girl?" Liz, James's hairstylist asked while doing James's hair before a photo shoot for some clothing line that James couldn't never remember the name of.

"Huh?" James asked, worried that Liz had seen the picture from the party.

"You're happier, you've got this look about you, you're so dating someone."

"How would you know? I'm just happy is all."

Liz smacked James on the top of the head, "I've been your hairstylist for 5 years, I see you for hours at a time several times a week, I think I can read you pretty well by now."

James let out a defeated sigh, "There is someone."

"Is she pretty? What does she do?" Liz asked running her hands through James's dark hair.

"Well, it's more complicated than that."

Liz hummed and spun James around to check that his bangs weren't getting too long, "How so?"

"I can't say exactly."

"She's mysterious?"

James shook his head.

"Stop shaking your head, I'm looking at your bangs. What's the problem with her then ?"

"Can we not talk about this."

Liz grumbled, reaching for the scissors in her apron and brought James's bangs up with her fingers to snip off a tiny bit. "I don't know what could be so bad that you can't talk about it. Unless she's a he or something," Liz said nonchalantly, gathering another strip of hair and clipping it.

James was silent. He swallowed thickly, hoping that Liz would change the subject quickly. He could have changed the topic easily but his brain was working in overdrive to keep his mouth shut and say nothing that would even hint that 'she' was in fact a 'he'.

Liz stopped trimming his hair and looked down at him, "Oh my god, James, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, why?" James asked, giving an uneasy smile.

"I-I'm sorry if I said anything that bothered you. I shouldn't have pushed the subject. Are you sure you're alright?"

James nodded, "Am I done?"

It took Liz a moment to realize he was talking about his hair and she nodded.

James went into the bathroom and pulled out his cellphone. He brought up Kendall's number and pressed dial. It rang until it hit voicemail and the familiar "Hi, this is Kendall, leave a message and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible" echoed in the empty bathroom. James hung up with out leaving a voicemail.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. James had always sucked at keeping secrets and this was potentially the biggest secret he'd kept in his life. He didn't like lying to Liz and his publicist, but he wasn't ready to come out of the closet yet. James leaned his head against the cool tiled wall and sank down to sitting position. The date didn't go as well as he had hoped, and that was bothering him. Kendall said he had a good time and it was one of the best dates he'd ever been on, but James didn't think so.

James had envisioned their date to be much more romantic. The most romantic thing that had happened while at the beach was while they were in the water and he hugged Kendall. He had thought about going in for a kiss, but didn't know if that would be okay. Messing everything up with Kendall was the last thing he wanted to do because, A.) he really liked him and B.) he didn't want to ruin their friendship by making things uncomfortable. He screwed things up even more by deciding to get drunk and not confronting the whole 'is this awkward for you' conversation.

"James, are you in there?" a PA called from the door of the bathroom.

"Yeah, be out in a second," James said pulling himself up from the floor. He didn't know what to do about the whole dating Kendall topic.

* * *

Kendall leaned back in his office chair and scrubbed a hand over his face. It was Wednesday afternoon and he didn't have anything going on until 3pm when the rink opened for public ice skating.

"Knock knock," Katie called from the doorway of the office.

"Katie?" Kendall asked sitting up and looking at his little sister standing before him.

"Yep. Don't you know what a phone is?" she asked sitting down on a couch across from the desk where Kendall sat. "You haven't called me in forever."

"I've been busy, what are you in LA for?"

Katie snorted, "Nice. I get an 'I'm busy what are you here for', no 'I miss you' or how are you doing'?"

Kendall rolled his eyes and said exasperatedly, "I missed you, Katie. How are you doing?"

"I missed you to, and I'm fine by the way. I'm in LA apartment shopping, I'm moving up here for a new job."

"You quit or get fired from the other place?"

"Quit. I got a new job up here for some rich playboy as his manager. His father decided he was getting out of control and needed someone to keep him in check, thus I come in."

Kendall laughed, "Have fun with that."

Katie rolled her eyes, "The pay is out of this world, so much better than my last job. Anyway, what's up with you lately? Got a girlfriend, boyfriend?"

"Something like that."

"Ohh," Katie leaned forward, interest obviously peeked, "give me all the juicy details."

"Katie, no."

"Oh come on, how long have you been together?"

Kendall sighed, "We've gone on one date."

"Not good?"

"It was fun and by date standards it was okay. We went to the beach and ended up staying the night because we got too drunk," Kendall said. He had to talk to someone about the date with James, he didn't think that person would be Katie but he just had to make sure that James remained anonymous through out the conversation and he would be fine.

"A beach date sounds fun. What was wrong? Was it awkward or something?"

"I don't know if awkward is the right word to use. I just expected more, I guess. I said it was the best date I had ever been on becuase he seemed totally into it and I didn't want to make him feel bad, but now I feel bad for lying."

Katie nodded in understanding. She sat back on the couch and propped her feet up on the armrest, "Did they make a not make a move and you wanted them to? That sort of deal?"

Kendall grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge beside his desk and tossed one to his sister, "I've known this person for a while and we're friends, and I don't want to do anything to fast and make things awkward. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it. But you know what big brother, the problem won't go away if you keep dancing around the subject. Sooner or later you'll have to sit down and tell this person that you want to know if it's okay to be more intimate, that is the problem, right?"

Kendall nodded. He couldn't believe he was getting dating advice from his younger sister, but he was happy to hear someone else's input.

"Then sit this person down and talk about it. If they think that being more than friends is too weird then you just weren't meant to date, just be friends. That way you can still be friends before something too awkward happens and you can't even look each other in the eye again."

"Thanks, Katie," Kendall said with a smile.

"No problem. Now, do you want to help me find a place?" she asked pulling a bunch of papers from her purse, "I'm not sure where is a good part of town to live."

"Yeah," Kendall agreed, taking a few of the ads and sitting down beside his sister.

* * *

James called Kendall on Friday night telling him that he was free both Saturday and Sunday for dinner. They scheduled for Saturday evening at 6pm with a movie afterwards at 8:30pm. Saturday morning Kendall called James and asked him if they wanted to go toghether or separate to the resturant. James said he would meet Kendall there.

Kendall was already at the restaurant by the time James arrived. He looked really good in his black slacks and un-tucked navy blue button down. James was instantly brought back to the night of the party when he had ripped Kendall's shirt open and ruined it. He bit his lip and stepped out of his car to greet Kendall.

Kendall waved, looking James up and down. Black slacks and a white button up looked good on anyone, but on James it looked like an invitation to fuck him then and there in the street. He smirked internally, remembering the night of the party for a split second. The night that lead them to be there together. Kendall decided he was definitely going to have to approach the topic of being more than friends and getting intimate. He had dreamed of it for years, why was this so hard now that it was real.

They got a table pretty quickly once they got inside the restaurant. They placed their orders and that was when Kendall decided it was a better time than never to talk about his 'issue'. "Can I talk to you about something?" he asked pushing the straw around in his glass of water.

"Anything, you know that."

"Okay, well, I didn't really enjoy the beach as much as I said I did."

James blinked a few times, "I know, me either."

"R-really?" Kendall asked, surprised that James wasn't upset or disappointed. The last thing he expected was for James to agree with him.

"Yes, really. It didn't go how I wanted it to, I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. I should have said something while we were there."

"Me too. I wish it would have been more romantic, I was gonna say something but I wussed out."

Kendall bit his lip nervously, "Do you want to do this? Dating, I mean. Because it kind of seems like we're just hanging out as friends, and I don't know if I should make a move and it would be awkward. Would it be awkward?"

"I've been feeling the same way, not knowing what was okay and what wasn't. I don't want to ruin our friendship. I want to date you and I want to be more than friends with you."

"Good. You look really hot tonight, by the way."

James smiled and looked down at his clothes, "I look nice, you look hot. When I saw you in those pants and that shirt I wanted to rip it off you, like at the party."

"Maybe I'll let you," Kendall smirked.

James rose his eyebrows, "Really? Maybe I'll let you do body shots off me again."

"I'd love to," Kendall said quietly.

Their dinner arrived and talking was limited to casual conversation about their weeks. James was happy to hear Katie was in town and vowed to make sure he got to see her. James told Kendall that he was free from work until the next Friday and that he hadn't made any plans. Kendall thought that he would make sure to close the rink early at least one of those days to spend time with James.

"So, do you want to go see the movie or go to my place?" James asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

Kendall grinned, "A movie, or an evening alone with you? I don't know, tough decision."

"My place it is then?" James smirked, placing his credit card on the bill the waiter placed on the table earlier on in the meal.

Kendall saw the card and pulled his wallet from his back pocket, "Let me pay for it."

"No, let me."

"But you paid for our dinner and drinks on the last date," Kendall argued.

James pushed Kendall's hand away from the bill, "I want to, please, let me."

Kendall pocketed his wallet reluctantly.

"You didn't answer my question. My place or movie?"

The waiter came and took the bill and James's card and Kendall smiled politely before turning to answer James, "Your place. Unless you want to make out at the theater."

"Not particularly."

"Your place it is then."

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I look forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

* * *

James hadn't even gotten the door completely closed before Kendall was backing him against it, fingers digging into his waist and mouth assaulting his neck.

"You're sure you want to do this? This is your last chance to back out before this goes any farther," Kendall said pulling away a few inches to look at his friend.

James's eyes were heavy and his neck arched forward, just begging for more attention in the form of Kendall's mouth. This should have been all the answers that Kendall needed, but Kendall held his steady gaze fast and James knew he needed to give a verbal answer. "Yes, Kendall. I want this as much as you, now get on with it," James said fisting his hand in the back of Kendall's hair and pulling him in for a heated kiss.

James walked Kendall backward toward the couch and pushed him down upon it gently. He straddled Kendall's lap, his knees on either side of his thighs and arched down, not yet breaking the kiss. He pulled Kendall's lower lip between his teeth and tugged on it as he leaned back slightly. "How far do you want to go?" James asked, breathing staggered.

Kendall looked up into hazel brown eyes and wished he could say 'I want to do everything with you' but he knew that he should probably restrict second date to touching only. Only Kendall would be able to think logically with somebody like James on his lap, staring down at him, mouth red and lips kiss swollen. How he kept control after fantasizing all these years, he would never be able to figure out. "Let's play it safe, hands only?" Kendall asked.

"Fine by me," James muttered leaning in once more for another kiss. He had his hands in Kendall's hair, urging the blonde forward as he pushed his tongue inside his mouth. Kendall tasted like the steak he's had for dinner and a sweet bite of the wine they had ordered as an after thought with their earlier meal.

Kendall started with his hands on James's thighs, resting easily, enjoying the feel of them in the taut fabric as he moved gently with the kiss. His hands quickly moved to James's ass and lower back, kneading the soft flesh and encouraging James to grind his hips down on Kendall's lap. Kendall threw his head back against the couch when he felt James's erection brush against his own through their pants. James's teeth caught his lip a bit harshly when he pulled back and left his lip red and swelling slightly.

"Shit, are you okay?" James asked, still rolling his hips down on Kendall's.

"Yeah, just got a little excited, fuck," Kendall grabbed James by his hips and maneuvered him into a lying down position on the black couch. He moved over him, balanced on one arm, the other moving down between their bodies to touch James's dick through his slacks. James hissed at the contact but it instantly turned into a groan.

"Sensitive much?" Kendall smirked.

James looked up at him through half lidded eyes, head titling back into the cushions and said, "I could say the same for you. It's been a while."

Kendall just grinned and slid down James's body until his mouth hovered over the waistband of James's pants. He pushed James's shirt up to his ribcage and smiled at the tight expanse of tanned skin before him. He swept his tongue up from James's navel to where the shirt stopped.

James went to work on the buttons of his shirt and regretted not wearing a polo or something that could be easily pulled off. He stopped for a moment to bring Kendall back up to kiss him again while he finished the work on his shirt. The taste of Kendall's mouth was addicting, it was like no one else he had ever kissed before and he wondered why he hadn't thought to tell Kendall about his crush sooner. He could have had this a long time ago.

Kendall traced one hand down James's now exposed chest and trailed it down to the button of his pants. He worked the button through it's hole and the zipper slid down easily after that. He slipped his hand beneath the elastic band of James's boxer briefs and gave his dick a gentle squeeze. James thrust his hips up into Kendall's hand and Kendall chuckled softly. He gave an experimental tug and James made choked noise as he brought his hand up to Kendall's hip, thumb pressing harshly into the soft flesh to the bone.

"Kendall, fuck," James struggled to collect his thoughts as Kendall began a steady stroking rhythm, "fuck, I'm gonna come."

"Then do it," Kendall said, voice much deeper than usual. His eyes found James's and they stay there, wanting James to come, willing him to. He was sure if he just cocked his eyebrow the right way James might lose it.

"No, together," James breathed pushing Kendall's slacks down on his hips until he could get his hand inside. "Would it kill you to wear pants that fit you?" he smiled brushing his hand against Kendall's hard length

"Do you want me to?" Kendall grunted. His arm holding him up gave out and he slumped against James's side and the back of the couch, hand still working diligently down James's pants.

"No," James said running his thumb over the tip of Kendall's dick and receiving a shutter in response.

Kendall tilted his head up and trapped James's earlobe between his teeth. James pushed his head back into the cushions and turned it to capture Kendall's mouth with his own. This kiss was passionate, well, as passionate as a kiss can be when you've got a hand down your pants and your own hand down someone else pants.

Mid kiss Kendall opened his eyes and whispered, "James."

James's eyes opened and he could feel his orgasm hitting him. He broke eye contact as he arched back and screwed his eyes shut. Kendall was coming with him and breathing heavily in his ear. They both lay there on the couch, boxer briefs wet, trying to catch their breaths.

"I call first shower," Kendall muttered, pulling his hand from James's pants and wiping it on his open button down.

"Whatever" James groaned wiping his own hand down the length of Kendall's shirt with a lopsided grin.

Kendall rolled over James and found his footing on the cold wood floor. He walked to the bathroom and closed the door, James could hear the lock click into place and covered his eyes with his arm. He wished he could lay there forever, completely blissed out, still coming down from the high of his orgasm. Unfortunately he couldn't, and he knew that, because lying with drying semen on your underwear and slacks was gross, and becoming uncomfortable. James slid his legs off the couch one by one and stood up. He headed for his bedroom where he had a second bathroom attached, which was a blessing, because he did not want to wait until Kendall was done to clean up.

* * *

Kendall ended up staying the night. He hadn't intended to but when he finished his shower and borrowed more of James's clothes they both laid down on James's oversized bed and talked for hours. It hadn't felt awkward, in fact, they mutually agreed that it seemed natural. At one point James left the bedroom to gather their clothes and put them in the washer. He returned shortly and they turned the TV on and watched Family Guy reruns until both of them were asleep.

"James!" a shrill voice came from the other side of James's bedroom door. "James! Wake up! I've been calling you for an hour now!"

Kendall awoke first. He heard the female voice and scrambled into the bathroom after punching James in the chest. James sat up and swung his arm out to hit the offender. He spotted Kendall in the bathroom, pointing toward the main door.

James shrugged and shook his head.

"James!" the voice shrieked.

James jumped from his bed and threw the door open to find his publicist standing before him, red faced, glasses perched dangerously at the end of her nose. She straightened her navy skirt and put one hand on her hip, "What the hell were you doing last night?"

"Uh, had a friend over, got a little drunk, sorry. What's going on?"

"Oh nothing. I just came by to say hi, you know."

James glared at his publicist and crossed the room to the bathroom and closed the door. He could hear the clicking of her heels as she approached the door to talk to him while he got woke up. James turned to Kendall and ushered him into the shower, he turned on the faucet to make it seem as if he were doing something and said, "Make no noise. She'll be gone soon, trust me."

"So do you want to know why I'm here?"

"I'd love to Kira," James said tightly.

"Milan."

"What?"

"You got the Milan contract for a new designer, Cortezzi. Remember, you asked if I could get you on her line a while back?" Kira asked.

James's eye went wide. The Cortezzi line was a line he had hoped to get on for a long time. He knew that the woman's designs would be incredibly popular, which in turn as her model, he would be featured in every magazine from the earth to the moon. James had been right, Cortezzi's line had gone viral when she did fashion week. Everyone wanted her clothes, and she wanted James to wear her clothes. It was a dream come true.

"When do I have to confirm?" James asked glancing at the shadow of Kendall standing in the shower. The Cortezzi contract would mean he would spend a good chunk of time in Milan. Like up to 4 months or more.

Kira was silent as she checked the emails on her phone and the answered, "Next Friday I need an answer, that's not her deadline but it's mine."

"Fine," James opened the door enough to slip out past Kira, and she followed him away from the bathroom.

"I'll hear from you on Friday then," Kira said and left the room without so much of a goodbye.

The front door closed with a dull thud and James sat upon his bed, head in his hands. Milan was far away from Kendall, but it was what he had always wanted. "Fuck," he muttered.

"I'm kind of lost," Kendall admitted stepping out of the bathroom and leaning in the doorway.

James sighed heavily, "There's a fashion designer named Cortezzi and she makes amazing clothes and she wants me as one of her models. I've always wanted this."

Kendall's face lit up, "That's awesome!" Kendall's smile faded almost as soon as it came when he saw that James didn't look happy though he said this was something he always wanted, "What's wrong? Why aren't you happy about this?"

"I would have to go to Milan, Italy."

"Oh."

"I would be there for 4 months or more, and I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I can be away from you for that long."

Kendall sat down beside James and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, "Do it. We haven't gotten serious yet, I can wait. This is your dream, and I don't want to keep you from that. This is you chance to make it big, bigger than you ever imagined."

"You don't get it Kendall, we've spent most of our lives together, sure it wasn't romantic or sexual until now, but you're still more to me than just someone I'm dating. It feels like we've been serious for a long time, and I don't know if I can just up and leave."

"Try it. If you can't do it, come home. So what if you aren't mega famous, you can still do what you're doing now. I won't let you say no to this contract. You said this was your dream and you will not throw it away for me," Kendall said sternly, turning James to face him. "Call Kira and tell her you accept, do it now before you can change your mind. I will always be here if you decide being in Milan isn't what you want."

"But we just started dating, I don't want to leave yet."

"No buts. We still have time before you leave to keep dating and maybe sleep together, who knows. Now call," Kendall grabbed James's cellphone from the night stand and dropped it in his lap.

James leaned forward and kissed Kendall softly, "I love you so much."

* * *

**End note: **James's big 'i love you' moment was not as big as it could have been. I'm aware of this, but you have to realize that Kendall and James have known each other for a very long time and have always loved each other, and have both obviously had feelings that were more than friendly for a while and thus we have James saying "I love you" and letting the moment get to him and letting his built up emotions show.

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	9. Chapter 9

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I look forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

* * *

Monday morning Kendall got a call from James. He was at work, in the middle of a hockey practice with an older group of 13 to 16 year olds when his phone began ringing from his office. As usual, he ignored the call and planned to call the person back later if it was someone he knew. However, this time when he phone rang, there was only two high pitch noises and then a cut off third one. Kendall stopped mid game and looked up to where his office over looked the arena.

He saw someone pass by the window. Kendall pulled off his gloves and called for a ten minute break, he made for the exit in time to see Katie jogging down the rows of seat, his cellphone in her hand, worried expression on her face. "Katie, what are you doing here?" Kendall hissed taking the phone from his sister's outstretched hand.

"Just answer the phone," she said pursing her lips.

Kendall put the phone to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, Kendall, look I got some bad news," it was James and he sounded upset.

"Yeah, James, what's going on? Are you aright?"

"I'm fine. But my flight to Milan leaves tonight. I guess Kira thought it'd be best to get me there as soon as possible once I signed the contract."

Kendall could feel his stomach sink. They planned on James being in town for at least another week so they could go on a few more dates, figure out what the wanted to do before James left. They hadn't come to the decision that they would remain monogamous to each other while separated, though Kendall planned to anyway. They didn't even know if they wanted to try and continue their relationship since James would be gone for such a long while.

"Will I get to see you before the flight?" Kendall asked, chancing a glance at Katie who was looking him skeptically and with general confusion.

"Probably not, the flight leaves at 3:30 this evening."

"Shit, James, I don't know if I can make it."

"It's okay. I'll call you again for I get on the flight, okay?"

Kendall nods his head, "Yeah, alright. Don't forget."

"I won't, bye."

"Don't say that. I'll talk to you later."

"I'll talk to you later too," with that James hung up and Kendall looked at the call disconnected warning on his screen.

Kendall looked up at the large clock the hung over the rink and there was only another ten minutes until 2pm when practice was over. He turned to the group kids and said, "Practice is over early today. Go get changed."

"Are you alright, ?" one of the younger boys asked.

Kendall nodded and pulled his skates off. Katie still hovered behind him, waiting for some kind of explanation about the phone call. He glanced at her and she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off, "I'll talk to you in my office, Katie."

* * *

"So…" Katie said flopping down on the couch in Kendall's office.

"So what?" Kendall snapped, sitting on the edge of the couch beside her.

Katie looked up at him with a displeased glare, "No need for the tone."

"I'm sorry," Kendall ran his hands through his hair and tilted his head back. He let out a loud yell of frustration before slumping his shoulders. "I'm guessing you want to know why James called and sounded so urgent?"

"Let's start there, yeah."

"First, why are you here?"

Katie rolled her eyes, "I'm here to tell you I found an apartment, but that's not important right now. What's going on?"

"Oh, I'm happy you found a place," Kendall swallowed thickly and continued, "James has a flight to Milan, Italy tonight and we had plans."

"Uh huh. Right. So why did it sound like you were having a conversation straight out of a TV soap opera?" Katie questioned, standing to face her brother.

Kendall was silent. There was no lying to Katie and he knew it. It was better to remain silent then to convince her he was just bummed out that James was unable to hang out. Katie took the silence as his answer and began drawing her own conclusions. "You sounded upset, shit, you still sound upset. Obviously there was something more than just hanging out going on. Are you and James dating?"

"It's not like that Katie, we just go out sometimes."

"Kendall, answer my question."

Kendall's eyes darted around the room, he sucked at lying, "I did."

"No, you didn't. You're dancing around the question. Now tell me, are you and James dating?"

"Fine, fuck, yes, we are, and he's leaving. We've been on like two dates and then this whole Milan contract came up and I told him to take it because he wanted it so bad. We thought we would have more time before he left, but we don't because he's leaving tonight. I'm not even going to get to see him, and I won't get to say goodbye accept over the phone and that's stupid. What the hell am I supposed to do, Katie?"

"What are you supposed to do? I don't know. But I know what you're gonna do. You're gonna get your keys, close the rink and drive for the airport to see him off," Katie instructed digging in her pocket for her own keys, "No, you know what, I'll drive you, so you actually get there and don't chicken out."

"But I can't just close the rink."

"No buts Kendall, you can do whatever you want, this is your place. Your rink, you can close early and say fuck everyone else. That's the advantage to owning your own place. I'm sure your guest won't die if they can't get into the rink for one night. Is James important to you?"

"Of course."

Katie pulled Kendall's arm and he stood up, "Then we're leaving. Come on."

"Are you okay with James and I, I mean, us together?"

"Kendall, I only care that you're happy. If you're happy with James, they you're happy with James. I'm not going to tell anyone you two are together because obviously you weren't ready to."

Kendall smiled and pulled his sister into a hug, "I have to lock up first, but I'll meet you at the car, okay?"

Katie pulled out of the hug and headed for the parking lot.

* * *

Kendall practically tumbled out of Katie's car in a rush to get inside the airport. It was already 3pm and James's flight left at 3:30pm which meant they would begin boarding soon. He shuffled slowly through the revolving doors because the three people in front of him clearly had no place to be anytime soon. Once clear of the doors, it was only a matter of figuring out which gate James would be at.

His phone started ringing just as he made his way to the escalators. "Where are you?" Kendall answered, knowing it was James from the caller id.

"What?" James asked slowly.

"Where are you at?"

"I'm at the airport, like I told you earlier. I'm calling you like I said I would. Remember?"

Kendall growled, pushing through a group of people to get a better view of the flight departure/arrival board, "I know you're at the airport. What gate are you at?"

"Gate 10, why?"

"Alright," Kendall said hanging up and jogging in the direction of Gate 10.

* * *

James pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at it. Call disconnected it said. Kendall has just hung up on him, so much for saying goodbye. He looked up at the large speaker as a woman's voice flowed through it. "Boarding Gate 10, boarding gate 10," she said slowly so that everyone could understand which gate was boarding.

James stood up from his seat in the airport lounge and grabbed his carry on case. He let out a long sigh and glanced at his surroundings once more. It would be the last time he saw them in a long while. Not that he cared too much for the airport, he knew he was actually looking around for Kendall, but he didn't think he would show up.

"Hey! Watch it! Excuse me! Hey!," a group of people yelled angrily from the entry way to the gate 10 waiting area.

Kendall emerged from the angry group and stopped short of the beginning of the seats and scanned the area for James. When he spotted him he started running for him although walking the 15 feet of space between then would have been sufficient.

James took note that Kendall was barefoot, struggling to keep his pants up and lacking his usual bracelets and necklace. He watched as Kendall stopped short of running into him. Kendall was trying to catch his breath and eventually he just settled on hugging James, breath coming in short haggard gasps beside James's face.

"Did you just run through the airport to get to me?" James asked.

Kendall nodded, still not able to fully form words yet.

"Where's your shoes and stuff?"

"Security," Kendall wheezed. He pulled away from James, but kept his hands on his shoulders for support. "Metal detector thing, just left them, didn't have time."

James grinned, "You could have just told me to wait over the phone."

Kendall shook his head, "Wasn't thinking."

"Yeah, obviously."

"I guess this is goodbye then," Kendall said, dropping his arms to his sides and sighing.

"Yeah, but I'll be back before you know it. And like you said, I can always quit and come home."

"Wish we'd had more time. Make sure you call me, and don't forget about me and go messing around with some girl or something."

James laughed weakly, "I wouldn't do that."

"I really want to kiss you right now."

"Boarding gate 10, boarding gate 10," the speaker system announced once more.

James looked around quickly and made a split second decision that he may or may not regret later. He pulled Kendall in for a kiss. It didn't last long and Kendall took a second to get with the program. James pulled at Kendall's bottom lip with his teeth and then pulled away completely. James glanced around them again and it didn't seem that they had an audience or lurking fans.

"I'll call you as soon as I land," James muttered, picking up his bag once more and heading for the gate.

Kendall raised his hand and waved half heartedly, "Bye."

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I look forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

* * *

"Kendall, I'm here. I landed safely," James said to the voicemail on Kendall's phone. "Its about twelve thirty in the afternoon here, so I'm assuming it's late night there and that's why you aren't picking up. I got my bags and everything is going smoothly. I miss you. Call me when you get this message." James hung up and pocketed his phone. Kira was waiting for him at the other end of the baggage claim, heels clicking impatiently on the linoleum flooring.

"Finished?" she asked curtly, incessant tapping stopping as James came to a halt in front of her.

"I'm not still on the phone am I?"

"Who were you calling anyway?"

James glared at her. Kira was a royal bitch when she wanted to be, but James put up with her because she was the best at her job as his manager. She didn't take his shit, she booked him well paying jobs, and she made sure he was always one time for everything. James knew she should have better, more well paying clients than him, but he wasn't about to open his mouth and let her know anytime soon. He didn't want to lose her even if she did have a perpetual stick up her ass.

"Are we meeting Ms. Cortezzi now or later?"

"Later," Kira sighed, tapping at her phone and swiping her finger across the touch screen. "I have you booked to stay at the Carlton Hotel. It has a longer name but I can't pronounce it, it's not important anyway. I've booked you one of their suites for the time you'll be here."

"Sounds expensive. How much is it costing me?"

"Nothing. Cortezzi is paying for it."

James smiled slightly. Cortezzi obviously really wanted him if she was willing to cover the rental of his suite. He knew it couldn't be cheap, he'd heard about the Carlton in Milan from some of the people he worked with on photoshoots.

"We should get you over there so you can change. We have a dinner meeting at 3pm."

James looked up at the large clock looming over the baggage claim. It read 12:46 PM. He felt tired and sluggish all of a sudden. He only slept for maybe an hour or two out of the whole twelve hour flight. "Can we move that meeting to tomorrow maybe?"

Kira looked up at James and was about to make a retort about how this is the biggest moment in his career and how he should not be rescheduling anything at this moment, but she held her tongue. James looked tired, worn out and overall terrible and jet lagged. She herself wasn't feeling 100%, but she had gotten close to a full nights rest on the flight, used to experiencing jet lag and knowing how to minimize its effects on her body.

"I'll call Cortezzi's assistant and let her know."

"Thank you." James looked out the large glass windows behind Kira and watched as a sleek black car pulled to a stop in front of the doors. Kira pointed to the car while on hold with Cortezzi's assistant and motioned for them to start walking out of the airport.

* * *

Kendall picked up his phone at 5am and looked at the screen. One missed call and one new voicemail. He listened to the voicemail and then listened to it again just to hear James talk. He looked at his bedside clock and did the math in his head to calculate the time zone difference. It was about 9 hours which meant it would be 2pm for James.

Kendall hit the redial button and waited for James to pick up.

"Yeah? Hello?" James said groggily through the phone.

"Hey, you said to call you when I got the voicemail. Are you sleeping?"

"Kendall. Oh my god it's so nice to hear your voice. I thought you might have been Kira calling to bother about some shit again."

Kendall smiled. "Nope, just me calling to bother you."

"You never bother me."

"How was the flight?"

"Long. I'm seriously jet lagged right now. I took some tylenol for a headache that started beating it's way out of my skull earlier. I was just asleep actually."

"I should let you sleep."

"No, I don't want to. I want to talk to you."

Kendall lifted his laptop from the floor beside his bed and opened it. "Do you have your laptop unpacked?"

James rolled over on the overly plush suite bed and looked at his bags. They were sitting open from when Kira rifled through them to lay out clothes for their dinner meeting tomorrow. His laptop sat upside down on the clothes, charger plugged into the wall. Kira must have done it. He stretched off the bed and grabbed the computer and opened it.

"I have it, and it's open. Did you want to skype?"

"Yeah. That way if you fall asleep it won't run up your phone bill."

"Alright, see you in a second," James said and hung up the phone.

* * *

"Wow, you look like hell," James commented the moment Kendall was visible on screen.

Kendall narrowed his already sleep heavy eyes at James. "It's 5am."

"I've only slept 4 hours in the last 24 or so."

"I didn't say you looked good. In fact, you probably look worse than me."

"In your dreams."

"Narcissist much?"

"Shut it."

Kendall smiled and yawned. "So what's your plan for the next few days."

"Meeting Ms. Cortezzi and her associates at dinner. Then I think Kira said something about letting me rest for a few days since I 'look like a drowned rat'."

"You do look like a drowned rat."

"So help me if you agree with her again I'm going to kick your ass."

"Tell me again how are you going to do that when you're in Italy?"

James pointed viciously at the screen. "Do not think I won't catch a flight to come kick your ass."

Kendall hummed. "And wouldn't that repeat this vicious cycle of jet lag? You wouldn't have the energy."

James gritted his teeth and huffed. "Then I'll do it the moment I see you when I get back."

"You'll forget."

"I'll write it on my hand everyday for the next four months."

"Oh, I'm sure you will. You should get back to sleep, 'drowned rat'. Call me tomorrow."

"I will get you."

Kendall smirked and turned his webcam off. He tossed his computer to the end of his bed and got up to start his morning.

* * *

A week and a half later. Kendall and James have figured out the best time to call each other is one in the afternoon, Kendall's time, and ten at night James's time. This way Kendall is always awake and ususally on break at the rink, and James is just finishing up his day of work. They try to talk at least every other day, but James is usually so tired he passes out the second his head hits the pillow. Kendall doesn't mind because he's usually busy cleaning the rink or making appointments.

After three and a half weeks, James broke down in the middle of a photoshoot that already wasn't going well. He could hardly understand the photographer and no one around spoke clear enough english to help translate. So James had to go with his gut and the little bit he could understand, which usually lead to him ending up in the wrong pose and the photographer stomping over to him to adjust his body manually.

"I can't understand you!" James yelled and the photographer readjusted his arm for the sixth time.

"What?" the photographer asked in a thick accent.

"You can't understand me, and I can't understand you. This isn't working, I'm taking a break."

The photographer scowled shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

James held up his hand and pointed to his watch. "I'm taking a break." With that he walked off the set to his dressing area behind some black curtains. He sat down and let out a heavy sigh.

"James, what is going on?" Ms. Crotezzi asked from behind the curtian at James's back.

"I can't understand the photographer and I'm really stressed out. I just need a minute."

"Do you want me to find a translator? I can translate myself if you'd like. I didn't think about how much Italian you know before I hired this photographer."

"It's okay Ms. Cortezzi. It'd be great if you could translate, or find a translator, anything is better than just guessing what he wants me to do."

"Okay. How much longer will your break be?"

"Just a few minutes. Thank you."

Ms. Cortezzi giggled and said, "It's not a problem, James." And then she was gone, the click clack of her heels echoing throughout the studio.

James grabbed his phone from the table beside the clothing racks and brought up Kendall's number. He stared at it, debating the call. It was nearly three in the afternoon which meant early morning for Kendall. He pressed call and waited for Kendall to pick up.

"Hmm?" Kendall murmured.

"Kendall, I want to come home."

"Why?"

James raised a hand to run through his hair but stopped, knowing the hair stylist would have to redo his hair. That was something he didn't want to have to sit through again. "I just want to come home."

"What happened?"

"I can't understand the photographer. I'm in and out of clothes for literally ten or more hours a day. I'm tired, I don't sleep very well. I've gained six pounds."

Kendall rolled over in his bed and sat up. "James, you're just having a bad day. Have you talked to Cortezzi about any of this?"

"Sort of."

"Tell her what's wrong, I'm sure she'll listen and make arrangements accordingly. You said she's really nice."

"She is. But this is just so much more work than I'm used to. I want to come home, I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to be with you."

"It's only been three weeks. Please don't give up. It's a little tough right now, but you will fall into a steady rhythm. Trust me."

James took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Kendall was right, as usual. He was just having a bad day and being a big baby about it. That didn't change the fact that he wanted to go home, and had wanted to go home since setting foot in the airport.

"James?"

"I'm here."

"I had a dream about you."

"Oh?" James asked seductively.

"Yeah. We were in your bed at your suite. You sent me pictures of your room, remember?"

"Yeah."

"Is that bed as soft as I dreamed it is? Like sleeping on a cloud or something."

James chuckled and said, "Yes, it's soft. We were just sleeping in the bed?"

"No. Well, we did sleep in the bed, but we were doing...other things."

"What other things?"

Kendall let out a breathy moan. "James."

"Kendall, don't do that," James hissed, shifting where he sat on the floor.

"It was so vivid. I can almost feel you. Your mouth wrapped around my-"

"Fuck, you have to stop," James whined, looked through a gap in the curtians to see Ms. Cortezzi heading toward him. *

Kendall slipped his hand past his boxers and grabbed himself, moaning loudly into the phone. "James."

"I have to go, my boss is coming," James whispered urgently.

"Touch yourself, do it, for me?"

James slid his free hand down to his jeans and palmed his aching dick. "Fuck, fuck, I'm going to get in trouble."

Kendall just hummed and panted breathlessly while he got himself off.

"James, are you okay? It's been fifteen minutes since you took your break," Ms. Cortezzi called, a few feet from the curtian.

"I'm just gonna use the bathroom, then I'll be right out."

"I'll be by the photographer."

James picked himself up off the floor and walked briskly to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom he flicked the lock on the door and unbuttoned his pants.

"James, I don't know how much longer I'm gonna last."

James groaned at the slide of his fingers across his cock. He wedged the phone between his shoulder and his ear while he used his free hand to unzip his pants and push them down. "Kendall, you son of a bitch," he breathed, leaning against the wall for support.

"God, you sound so wrecked."

"I'm trying to get back to work," James grunted.

"This is what you get for, ahhhhhh-" Kendall threw his head back and the phone fell out of his grasp as he came, soaking his boxers beneath the blanket.

At the sound of Kendall's orgasm, James was soon to follow suit. Pressed against the tiled wall, shirt hiked up to prevent stains, back cold against the tile. He pushed his head back, hips forward, back arching as he came.

"That's what you get for waking me up so early," Kendall muttered into the phone, coming down from his orgasm.

"Hate you."

"Liar."

"I have to get back to work," James said, looking down at his wet and sticky boxer briefs.

"Call you later."

James hung up his phone and placed it on the counter beside the toilet. He pulled his boots off and carefully removed his jeans so they wouldn't get any of his mess on them. His boxers came off and he tossed them in the trash can, there was no use in saving them now. James cleaned himself up to the best of his ability and put his jeans back on, no underwear, and headed out to the set.

* * *

Hey guys, sorry it's been a while :) Review !


	11. Chapter 11

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I look forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

* * *

"I'm coming home," were the first words out of James's mouth when Kendall picked up the phone.

"What?" Kendall asked, assuming James was just having another bad day and wanted to come home. This happened nearly every time they talked, and Kendall figured he would once again be talking James down and convincing him to stay.

"I'm coming home, in two days."

"Why?"

"Don't sound so enthused, Kendall," James remarked dryly.

"What? No, I'm confused. Why are you coming home? Did you get fired?"

James laughed. "No. There was some miscommunication between Kira and Cortezzi's assistant on how long they would need me. Cortezzi only needed me for four weeks, not four months."

"Shit! So you're coming home?! For real?"

"For real. Kira has us on a flight home in two days. I'll let you know when I'll be getting in town, it'll probably be late at night, so you don't have to pick me up."

"No, god, no it's not a problem. I'll come get you."

"You need your sleep, Kendall. Besides, what if Kira sees us toghether? Just let Kira drive me home and you can see me in the morning, alright?"

Kendall agreed reluctantly. What was waiting one more night to see him when he'd been away for a month?

* * *

James really shouldn't have told Kendall what time he was arriving at the airport. Because Kendall was impatient and wasn't going to wait until morning to see James. He was at the airport ten minutes before James's plane was scheduled to land, waiting by the baggage claim area since it was 3am and security told him he could wait as long as he didn't leave the main lobby and baggage claim area. He was happy to comply to their request.

Kendall checked the screens over the baggage area the information screens switched to announce James's flight landing and that the flight's bags would be coming around soon. He wiped his hands nervously on his jeans and checked the time on his watch. So what if Kira saw them together, if they didn't kiss, then they were in the clear, right?

The first few people coming down the escalators kicked Kendall's heartbeat into overdrive. Any moment James would be coming down those escalators and he would come to get his bags and see him. Kendall crossed his arms and shifted his weight, eyes fixed on the people coming toward him. One of the escalators was face the same direction as he was, so he couldn't see the people getting off it until they were coming at him. Kendall brought his fingers to his mouth and chewed on a blunt nail out of habit.

Most of the people Kendall was seeing were business men arriving home from trips, or arriving early for meetings. There were a few small families, and one or two couples holding hands. Everyone looked tired as they gathered their bags and ignored Kendall as they went about their business. Kendall wondered how many of these people got any sleep on the plane, James mentioned that there wouldn't be any layovers. A little girl rested against her father's chest as he carried her and their bags out the front doors, Kendall considered asking if he needed any help, but decided against it since it was late night and he was in an airport. He didn't want to come off as the wrong type of person.

Then there was James. James, coming at him, looking down at his phone and probably texting Kendall right that second that he was in the airport and made it home safely. James veered to the right, out of Kendall's line of sight and into a crowd of people gathered at the baggage claim, watching the bags go around.

Kendall's pocket vibrated and he knew his assumption was right. He pulled his phone out and dialed James's number, ignoring the text altogether.

"Hey, did I wake you up?" James asked. Kendall could hear him talking in the crowd a few feet away.

"No, I'm up."

"Oh, well you should be asleep. What are you doing right now?"

"Well, I'm looking at this really hot guy. He's got brown hair and he's pretty tall. He's wearing these jeans that make me want to grab his ass with both hands and never let go."

James leaned over the conveyer belt and grabbed one of his suitcases. He scoffed into the phone and said, "What the, are you watching something?"

"I'm watching someone. Damn, a woman in a bright pink dress just blocked my view."

"What in the-" James looked to the side as one of his bags passed and he caught sight of the girl standing next to him in a pink sundress leaning in for her duffle bag. His eyes traveled up the girls dress, past her blonde hair and over an elderly couple to find Kendall grinning at him from about eight feet away. He smiled so wide his face hurt and he forgot to hang up his phone as he shoved it in his pocket. He totally disregarded his suitcase that had gone by and was about to start another lap around the belt.

Kendall hung up the phone and put it in his pocket as James circled around the crowd to meet him, abandoning his first suitcase where he was standing. He picked up pace as he approached Kendall and broke into a half sprint with his last few steps, launching himself onto Kendall.

Kendall struggled to hold James up as his legs wrapped around his waist. James just held Kendall's face in his hands and stared at him, knowing that a kiss was too risky in a public place such as an airport. Hell, he was already pushing the envelope with the way he was up on Kendall, literally.

"God, I want to kiss you so bad," James whispered, barely audible.

"You're heavy," Kendall smiled, dropping his hands from James's ass and letting him stand far closer that two 'friends' should be standing.

James took half a step back, just enough space for Kendall not to feel his breath on his lips. "Help me get my bags?" James asked, eyes cutting to the now mostly empty conveyer belt.

"This was risky," Kendall said, looking at the few people who were still milling around, waiting for their bags to come around or looking like they were about to go to customer service or lost and found to get their bags.

"Kira isn't here. She stayed another day to finish up paperwork with Ms. Cortezzi."

"Less risky, but still, there were people here, close by."

"These people are old or half asleep, or both. All anyone cares about is getting home to a nice warm bed."

"An what do you care about?" Kendall smirked.

James leaned in and whispered, "Getting home to your bed."

* * *

Another update! **Reivews will encourage me to upadte faster, just putting that out there.**


	12. PSA Hiatus

Hello. This is a Kames fic. It is slash. It is fiction. None of this is real.

**Warnings:** AU (alternate universe). M/M.

**Summary:** Logan throws a masquerade themed Halloween party. Kendall attends and meets JD (James). How much fun can Kendall have when he doesn't have to be himself and everything is hidden behind a black mask? Will a crush turn into more?

**Note:** Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are all around 25 in this fic and Katie is 21. Again, this is AU. Please enjoy.

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic. I look forward to your next review and more reviews from everyone who had read this. It means a lot to me.

* * *

Hi this is Amanda, the author here, I just wanted to let you guys know that this story is going back on a temp hiatus because I've recently come into a job and I don't know how demanding it will be of my time yet.

Thank you for your understanding.

Also thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and those of you who have reviewed multiple times, it is greatly appreciated.


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